Hip boot with hand receiving pocket structure



B. L. CORLEY Oct. 20, 1959 HIP BOOT WITH HAND RECEIVING POCKET STRUCTURE Filed April 16. 1956 INVENTOR. BUREN L. CORLEY ATTORNEYS Unite States Patent HIP BOOT WITH HAND RECEIVING POCKET STRUCTURE Buren L. Corley, San Francisco, Calif. Application April 16, 1956, Serial No. 578,249 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-1) This invention relates to hip boots and has for one of its objects the provision of hip boots each provided with a hand warming pocket positioned to be protected by the waterproof material of the boot and concealed by the boot, and which pockets are so constructed and positioned as to hold the hands of a hunter, seated in a blind, close to the gun lying across his lap so that there will be no fumbling or lost motion in withdrawing the hands from the pockets and in grasping the gun for bringing it to bear on the game.

One of the most prevalent discomforts experienced by duck hunters is chilled hands. The use of gloves or mittens is out of the question since the hunter is usually required to place the decoys in the cold water, and the loading and firing of the gun cannot be done safely and with the required eificiency where the fingers are enclosed. Where the hunter wears hip boots, the pants pockets are not accessible, and pockets in the hunting coat cannot- (by reason of the position of the coat on the hunter) be positioned where the hands can be withdrawn with sufficient speed and freedom tobe practical. The use of hand warmers, which constitute extra loose items of equipment and which require upkeep and which mustbe held in the hands of the hunter to eifectively warm them, are used by a few hunters, but are usually soon discarded by most.

Inasmuch as the safety of the hunters and others that may be within gunshot greatly depends on each hunter having full efiiciency of his fingers, to say nothing of his success in bagging game, it is imperative that the fingers be kept sufiiciently warm to efficiently respond to the demands of the hunter.

The present invention provides a pocket within the upper, thigh enclosing portion of each boot for each hand of the hunter and in a position where the tension on the said portion, when the hunter is seated, is such as to hold the pocket so that a hand can quickly be thrust into the same and can quickly be withdrawn without danger of the pocket becoming folded or wrinkled or objectionably restricted at its mouth or elsewhere so as to impede movement of the hand. This is quite important since the failure of a shot may depend upon the fraction of a second lost in case the movement of the hand is impeded.

Another object of the invention is the provision of removable hand warming pockets (one in each hip boot) so that they may be easily replaced, repaired, or dried out without injury to the boot and without the inconvenience of the boot.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a hand warming pocket in each hip boot so arranged as not to alter the outward appearance of each boot nor to impair the waterproof characteristics of each boot.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a pocket in the upper thigh enclosing portions of a pair of boots that will not only provide for the warmth and protection of the hands, but which will also: function to protect the front sides of the thigh against bruising When pushing against debris and the like in water, and

Patented Oct. 20, 1959 that will also function as a cushion for supporting the gun across the lap of the wearer.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and in the drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a front elevational view of one boot of a pair, showing the position and approximate size of the pocket therein, the latter being indicated in dotted line.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the pocket as seen from the inside of the boot, a fragment of the boot being indicated.

Fig. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing one means for securing one of each pair of complementarily formed quick detachable snap fasteners to the boot.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view showing the boot pocket in position with a hand therein, when the wearer of the boots is seated.

Inasmuch as both boots are the same, except for right and left, only one boot of the pair will be shown and described.

In the drawing, a hip boot on the right leg of a standing person is generally indicated at 1 (Fig. 1). Some boots extend farther up the leg, particularly at the outer side of the thigh, but this does not afiect the present invention, and irrespective of these variations it is usual to provide each boot with a belt engaging strap 2 that extends upwardly past the hip at the outer side of the body. The line x-x in Fig. 1 indicates the approximate level of the knee.

The material of hip boots is usually rubber with a reinforcing lining of duck integral therewith, thus making the boots (above the sole) fairly flexible, tough and waterproof.

The front side of the thigh enclosing portion of each boot will be called the front panel and is designated 3, and it is inside this front panel that the hand warming pocket is positioned.

The pocket, generally designated P, may be made of any suitable material for keeping warm the hand that is enclosed thereby. Fleece lined material, wool, cotton, fur or wool lined skin etc., or any combination of these materials with heat insulation material would be suitable.

The front side, i.e. front wall 2 of the pocket (Fig. 3) or the side that is against the front panel 3, preferably extends from substantially the upper edge 5 of the front panel 3 to a point spaced above the knee line x-x. In a boot of the character shown it may extend to within about an inch or two of said level of line x-x.

The inner side or inner wall 6 of said pocket terminates at its upper free edge 7 (Fig. 2) below the upper edge 5 of the boot and is spaced below the upper free edge of the front side 4, and the upper marginal portion of said inner side 6 is also reinforced by a strip of tape 8 or the like, which material may also reinforce the upper marginal portion 9 of the front side 4, which portion 9 projects above the upper edge 7 of the inner side. This reinforcement of the upper marginal portions of the front and inner sides of the pocket facilitates insertion of the hand into the pocket as well as strengthening the pocket since said reinforcing material adds sufiicient stiffness to the upper marginal portions to prevent objectionable wrinkling or folding of said marginal portions.

The lower marginal portion 10 of the front side 4 also projects slightly below the lower edge of the inner side 6 and it may likewise be reinforced with a cloth tape or the like.

While the pocket as above described may be secured directly to the inner side of the front panel by cementing the front side 4 to said panel, it is preferably removable from the boot.

One method of removably securing the pocket to the inside of the front panel 3 is to cement or vulcanize a strip or piece 11 (Fig. 4) to the inner side of the front panel in positions covered by the upper and lower marginal portions 9, of the front side of the pocket, and which strips 11 each carry several corresponding snap fastener elements 12, while the snap fastener elements 13, carried by the pocket, will be complementary to elements 12 for releasably interengaging with the latter.

As seen in Fig. 2, the upper marginal portion 9 may have three snap fastener elements 13, one being in the center of said portion and the other two at the corners. The lower marginal portion 10 may have two such elements 13, one being at either comer. While only one element 13 would sufiice if placed on a tab centrally of the bottom portion of the pocket, the provision of two, as shown, insures against the corners of the pocket tending to fold over.

The pockets are preferably symmetrical at opposite sides of a vertical medial line so that the same structure will sufiice for both pockets.

Each pocket P is relatively flat and the material of the front panel, while flexible, will not fold nor wrinkle and when the boot is on the wearer and the wearer is seated, the front panel will tend to be slightly released so that the fiat hand can quickly be slipped over the upper edges of the boot and into the pocket. Since the thigh is in fairly close contact with the inner side of the pocket, the pocket will be quite warm. As seen in Fig. l, the width of the pocket is such as to extend substantially across the entire front panel over the front side of the leg, and in this position it affords a cushion for the front side of the thigh to enable the wearer to push against fallen branches and the like when wading without bruising the thigh. It should also be noted that the front side of the pocket will function as a cushion across the back of' the hands for supporting the gun that rests thereon when the hunter is seated and the gun is on the lap. This protection is particularly effective when the front side of the pocket is of sheepskin with the wool on the hand engaging side.

It is to be understood that it is the intention herein to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A hip boot having an upper portion of reinforced rubber in continuous horizontal cross sectional contour adapted to enclose the leg and thigh of a wearer to a level adjacent to the level of the crotch of the latter, and which portion includes a front panel adapted to extend over the forward side of such thigh from said level to the knee of such thigh and terminating in a free upper edge at approximately said level, a pocket at the inner side of said panel and carried thereby, said pocket having a front wall of relatively soft heat insulative material against said panel and having an inner wall of relatively soft, flexible, heat-insulative material adapted to lie against said forward side of such thigh and to extend over said front wall between said front wall and said thigh when said boot is on the wearer, said front wall terminating in a free upper edge within the boot adjacent tobut below said free upper edge of said front panel, and said inner wall terminating in an upper free edge spaced-a substantial distance below the upper edge of said front wall, said front wall and said inner wall being free from securement to each other along their free upper edges, the upper end of said pocket being defined by said free upper edges of said front wall and said inner wall and said upper end being open and free from obstruction whereby a construction is provided to facilitate insertion of the hand of a wearer past said upper free edges of said panel, front wall, and inner wall to a position between said inner Wall and said front wall.

2. A hip boot having an upper portion of reinforcedv rubber in continuous horizontal contour adapted to enclose the leg and thigh of a wearer to a level adjacent to the level of the crotch of the latter, and which portion includes a front panel adapted to extend over the forward side of such thigh from said level to the knee of such thigh and terminating in a free upper edge at approximately said level, a. pocket at the inner side of said panel and carried thereby, said'pocket having a front wall of relatively soft, heat insulative material against said panel and having an inner wall of relatively soft, flexible, heat insulative material adapted to lie against said forward side of such thigh and to extend over said front wall between saidfront wall and said thigh when said boot is on the wearer, said front wall terminating in an upwardly directed free upper edge within said boot adjacent to said free upper edge of said front panel, said inner'wall terminating in an upwardly directed upper free edge within said boot adjacent to said free upper edge of said front wall, said front wall and said inner wall being free from securement to each other along their free upper edges, the upper end of said pocket being defined by said free upper edges of said front wall and said inner wall and said upper end being open and free from obstruction whereby a construction is provided to facilitate insertion of the hand of a wearer past said free upper edges of said panel, front wall, and inner wall to a position between said inner wall and said front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 36,381 Willard Sept. 2, 1862 73,010 Holland Jan. 7, 1868 654,388 Diemer July 24, 1900 879,638 Hayes Feb. 18, 1908 FOREIGN PATENTS 361,562 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1931 587,704 Germany Nov. 8, 1933 

